Damage identification for irregular-shaped bridge based on fuzzy C-means clustering improved by particle swarm optimization algorithm

Irregular-shaped bridge is an important component of urban overpass and is prone to damage due to severe overloading and material deterioration. Structural damage detection is necessary to prevent bridge failure and guarantee the safe operation of urban traffic. For vibration-based damage detection methods, mode shape of full-scale structure is difficult to be measured with the limited number of sensors, while modal frequency can be obtained accurately and conveniently. This paper aims to propose a two-stage scheme for damage identification using the ratios of modal frequency changes and uniform load surface curvature difference (ULSCD) in damage region. FCM algorithm improved by PSO algorithm (FCM-PSO) is employed to locate damage and predict the damage extent. Firstly, the ratios of modal frequency changes from training cases are classified into several clusters based on FCM-PSO analysis. And the cluster centers for damage locations are constructed. Damage location can be identified by calculating the fuzzy memberships between identification indicator vector and cluster centers of damage locations. After obtaining the damage location, ULSCD values in damage region are established to assess damage severity based on the memberships in damage grades. Damage identification results for typical irregular-shaped bridge demonstrate that the two-stage damage identification method is efficient and accurate to identify the occurrence, location and extent of structural damage